Sweep releaf

ABSTRACT

A device for use with a flexible trash bag which maintains the entrance of said bag in a fully open position which incorporates a “dust pan” like ramp to facilitate the filling of said bag and the methods of use and features included is herein disclosed. The device is inserted into the opening of said bag. The base ramp has two opposing legs attached which are angled slightly outward from vertical to provide a force pushing against the bags sides maintaining the opening. The legs and base flange employ a number of pegs that project into the material of the bag keeping the bag on the frame. The base ramp extends a sufficient length to allow for free standing stability. The base ramp has two enclosed foot “stirrups” attached to opposite ends of said ramp which when utilized, provide stability to the device. This method of operation frees both hands to operate the sweeping tool by pulling the debris between the legs into the opened bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the art of leaf and debris insertioninto a trash bag. More specifically, but not by way of limitation, theinvention relates to improvements in the apparatus for holding open atrash bag for collecting leaves, trimmings, household dirt, constructiondebris and the like and filling the bag by a single person. Employingboth feet to secure the apparatus, not only is the operator in acomfortable upright position away from the dust, but both hands remainfree to operate the rake or broom greatly reducing the effort requiredand improving the efficiency of filling the bag. In addition, the use ofremovable legs overcomes a manufacturing and shipping concern, as wellas allows for easy storage when not in use.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the recent past, the use of plastic trash bags for collection,containment and disposal of debris has become increasingly popular.There have been various means designed for holding these bags in an openposition while filling.

Rylander's U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,011 employs a sheet of material which iscoiled to a smaller circumference and inserted into the bag, thenexpands holding the bag open in a circular shape. The device is setupright resembling a rigid trash can and manually filled from the top.This is no improvement over pre-existing rigid cans as filling requiresstooping over repeatedly and debris can be dropped or blown away whiletrying to fill the bag. It can also be used as a scoop but there are nohandles for ease of operation.

Taylor's U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,858 discloses a frame device adapted tohold a trash bag in an open position. The trash bag is held to the frameby a cord. The flame includes a stake to enable the frame to be anchoredto the ground for stability. This device has several shortcomings. Itappears to be not readily moveable, and requires driving and removing astake into the ground, and requires attaching a strap which can bedifficult to attach.

Beckham's U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,292 describes another method for holding atrash bag. The one piece injection molded apparatus has a permanentsized D-shaped configuration requiring an elastic strap to attach thebag. The large fixed size of the apparatus creates difficulties inshipping and storage. The necessity of an elastic strap appearsdifficult to employ and could become a hazard. The base has a footpadfor support. The single foot pad does not provide adequate support forthe base, and leaves the foot unprotected from contact with debris.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,103 Hayes, et al. describes a reusable bag and acollapsible frame that maintains the opening of a bag. The bag isattached by threading a rod through a hemmed fabric tunnel. The devicehas adjustable rods and feet. The design appears to be overly elaborateand difficult to employ. Emptying a reusable bag full of debris isundesirable.

The present invention provides a more stable frame member to which a bagcan be easily attached, needs no attaching strap, has a “dustpan” typeramp to facilitate filling the bag, has no moving parts, allows forsingle person operation with both hands free to sweep debris, hascovered stirrups to protect the feet from contact with debris, isshipped in a compact disassembled state, and is easily assembled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved bag holding apparatus whichis portable and easily operated with less effort and improvedefficiency.

Accordingly, the above mentioned shortcomings are obviated by thepresent invention which provides a novel bag opener frame withimprovements over the existing art.

The preferred embodiment would be as follows: The frame consists of abase that has a dust pan shaped ramp for ease of sweeping. Two footstirrups are attached for firm support while sweeping debris into thebag with two hands. Two detachable legs hold the bag open. The apparatuswhen assembled with a bag attached will form three sides of a rectanglewith the fourth being the bag itself.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel bag holdingapparatus which is simple and effective.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simplemethod of stability to the frame member.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide operation bya single operator.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide hands freeoperation.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide protection tothe feet while operating.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means forattaching bags without straps, clips, bands, etc. but by a number ofpegs placed along the edges of the legs and base which improve the gripof the frame

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means forusing various sized bags with the apparatus.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means forcompacting the apparatus for shipping and storage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cover of the assembled apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a top right front perspective view of the assembled apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a bottom right rear perspective view showing a detail of theflange and pegs;

FIG. 4 is a top left rear perspective view showing the removable legsand a detail of a method of securing the leg with a non-permanentsnap-lock

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the apparatus with a bag attached and anoperator using the apparatus

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the apparatus being lifted to dumpdebris from ramp into bottom of the bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is an apparatus for facilitating filling a trashbag with leaves, trimmings, household dirt, construction debris and thelike and filling the bag by a single person. The bag to be filled can befrom a standard plastic 33 gallon construction clean up bag down to astandard plastic kitchen trash container bag.

Referring to FIG. 2, the apparatus 1 is to be composed of a type ofextruded or molded plastic with substantial ridgidity yet slightflexibility. It is comprised of a base 2 with two opposing shrouded footstirrups 3, and two opposing legs 5. The shroud feature on the front ofthe stirrups 3 protects the operator from contact with the debris

Referring to FIG. 4, the legs 5 are inserted into two correspondingcavities 6 in the base. As shown in FIG. 2, these cavities are set at anangle 4, so that the legs 5 stand plus or minus eight degrees offvertical 4. The angled cavities 6 have grooves 14 cut into the interiorof the walls. The legs 5 have ridges 15 that mate with the grooves 14when inserted into the cavities. The design allows the legs 5 to bestable when inserted yet remain removable with some force. The ridgesare incorporated at both ends of the legs 5 allowing the legs 5 to fiteither cavity 6.

Referring to FIG. 3, the base 2 has a small flange 7 attached to thebottom at the rear. This flange 7 provides a slight rise to the back ofthe base 2. Referring to the exploded detail there are pegs 8 attachedto the flange 7 and the legs 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, the assembled apparatus 1 is inserted into a bag12. Debris is collected at the site in a normal way and placed near thefront of the apparatus 13 a. The operator places his feet 11 in theshrouded stirrups 3 and places his weight on his toes. This action givesthe apparatus stability while freeing both hands 10 for using thesweeping tool of choice 9.

Referring to FIG. 6, when a substantial amount of debris is collected atthe mouth of the bag 13 c, the operator steps out of the stirrups 3,grips each leg 5 along with the sides of the bag with each hand andlifts the apparatus 1 and bag 16 while maintaining a lateral forceagainst the sides of the bag 5, causing the debris to fall into thebottom of the trash bag 13 d. This process is repeated until the bag issufficiently filled, whereupon the apparatus is removed from the bag andthe filled bag is disposed of.

The two angle shaped legs 5 are manufactured separately and in variouslengths corresponding to the circumference of the openings of variousbags used, and shipped disassembled.

The invention is characterized by extreme simplicity, economy ofmanufacturing, durability, and ease of use. The novel incorporation ofseveral major improvements renders the invention practical where much ofthe prior art has proven to be impractical.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from thisinvention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appendedclaims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this invention.

1. A device for holding open a bag which facilitates filling said bagwith leaves, trimmings, household dirt, construction debris and the likecomprising: (a) A flat “dust pan” shaped base adapted to support saiddevice, said base approximately 16″ wide extending a sufficient lengthto allow for free standing stability; (b) Said base incorporates aflange on the back underside of the ramp which raises the ramp slightlyallowing the debris to enter over the lip of the bag; (c) Said baseflange has a number of pegs protruding towards the entrance of the basewhich protrude into the material of the bag for keeping said bag on saidbase flange; (b) Two foot stirrups attached at opposite ends of the rampenclosed at the front to prevent contact with debris, allowing two feetto be inserted and apply foot pressure for added stability and grippingforce when using the device; (c) Two legs attached to said base atopposite ends of the ramp behind said stirrups. Said legs are attachedby insertion into two L shaped cavities matching the form of the legs,of sufficient depth to provide stability, with one leg of the L runningfront to back and the other leg of the L running perpendicular away fromeach other; (d) Said cavaties are incorporated into the base at slightlyoutward from vertical angles located just behind the stirrups. Whensnapped into place the legs apply an outward force to the inside lip ofthe bag causing the bag to remain open, creating a rectangular shapewith three sides being the device and the forth side being the top lipof the bag itself. (e) The legs of said apparatus having a length equalto app. ¼ the total circumference of the bag to be used, various lengthsused for various sized bags. The legs have a snap-locking design thatallows the legs to be removed for ease of storage. The snap-lock featureis duplicated at both ends of each angled leg. Said feature allows eachleg to fit either slot. (f) Said legs have a number of pegs protrudingtowards the entrance of the base which protrude into the material of thebag for keeping said bag on said base flange; (f) Said legs can be usedas handles to pick up and relocate the device by (1) grasping each legalong with the lip of the bag, (2) applying a minimal outward force tokeep the bag attached to the leg and base flanges, (3) pick up thedevice with bag attached and relocate. (g) Said legs are used to dumpthe accumulated debris from the front of the bag to the bottom of thebag by (1) grasping each leg along with the lip of the bag, (2) applyinga minimal outward force to keep the bag attached to the leg and baseflanges, (3) raising the device with bag attached causing the debris tofall to the bottom of the bag, and (4) relocate the device where needed.These steps are to be repeated as necessary until the bag issufficiently filled whereupon the device is removed and the bag can betied shut and disposed of.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 being made ofinjection molded plastic of a chemical formula that provides ridgiditycombined with slight flexibility.
 3. A method for using said apparatusfor facilitating filling a trash bag with leaves, trimmings, householddirt, construction debris and the like by; (a) inserting said assembledapparatus into opening of said trash bag; (b) placing sides of saidtrash bag over said legs; (c) placing both feet into said stirrups; (d)sweeping said debris into bag over said ramp until opening is full; (e)grasping both legs and sides of bag simultaneously applying outwardpressure to maintain the position of the bag on the apparatus; (f)raising said apparatus causing collected debris to fall into the bottomof said trash bag; (g) repeating steps (d) thru (f) until said trash bagis sufficiently full; (h) removing said apparatus from said trash bagand tying shut said trash bag.